Polls close in Singapore

Polling booths in Singapore closed on Friday at 8:00 p.m. local time (1200 pm UTC). Voting is compulsory for the country's nearly 2.46 million citizens who are eligible to choose their government.

Many voters wore masks to protect themselves from a smoky haze that had enveloped the country after forest fires in neighboring Indonesia worsened air quality in Singapore earlier this week.

Singapore's ruling party PAP's leader and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong cast his vote with his wife Ho Ching.

"We always watch carefully, we've done our best….This is a major turning point for Singapore," he told journalists.

Preliminary results are expected early Saturday.

PAP set to win

Prime Minister Lee's PAP will win the elections, but the party's share of votes dropped to 60.1 percent in the 2011 polls, raising questions about the ruling party's future and the emerging popularity of opposition groups.

PAP's representatives were hoping that the country's 50th anniversary celebrations this year and respect for the country's founder and Prime Minister Lee's father, Lee Kuan Yew, would get them some extra votes. The elder Lee died in March.

The party's focus on strong economic growth has helped change the island nation into an international hub, with one of the highest living standards globally.

However, the city's prosperity has made it one of the costliest places in the world with crowded public transport and an increasing gap between the rich and the poor. This has spurred resentment among Singapore's citizens.

Prime Minister Lee has meanwhile introduced health insurance for elderly citizens and laws to curb the influx of foreign workers. However, the impact of these measures will have on his electorate remains to be seen.

The opposition's agenda

Singapore's opposition parties are contesting all 89 seats in parliament for the first time since the country gained independence from Malaysia in 1965. The main opposition group, the Workers' Party, won six seats in the 2011 elections.

Its agenda has focused on creating more jobs, health care and housing. The opposition is also trying to gain support from citizens who have question the leadership's restriction on free speech and media.

However, the Workers' Party is contesting only 28 seats, with the remainder being contested by eight smaller parties and two independent candidates. It is unlikely that the Worker's Party will form a coalition with smaller groups, making the ruling party's victory the likeliest alternative.

mg/kms (AFP, Reuters, dpa)